“Now, I’m going to get dressed. You go take care of what you need to. I’ll be fine.”
“I just need to do a few patients then I’ll be back. If you need anything, there’s a cell phone on the nightstand.”
Lily nodded her head as Beth got up from the bed, going for the door.
“I was supposed to help Rachel in the store this morning, could you…?”
“I’ll give her a call,” Beth promised.
“Thanks.”
Lily got up from the bed, pulling on a pair of jeans and a bright pink sweatshirt that fit well, if not for being too short. A pair of sneakers was there, also. They were tight but not painful.
A shopping trip would definitely be on the agenda now with her clothes damaged. She didn’t think it would be easy to get the smoke smell out of them and most of them were old enough that it wouldn’t be worth the bother.
Going downstairs, she found the house was eerily quiet. She was beginning to think she was the only one home until she went into the kitchen.
The women members were sitting around the kitchen drinking coffee. There were none of the usual smells of cooking food, though.
When Lily walked through the doorway, they went silent and everyone’s eyes turned toward her.
Lily hated being the center of attention. She wiped her sweaty palms against the side of her pants and said, “I was going to get a cup of coffee.”
Jewell and Evie both turned toward the coffee pot. Raci started to get up, but sat back down when she saw the other two women doing it. Bliss got up from her chair, motioning for Lily to take a seat.
“That’s okay. I…” Seeing the crushed look on Bliss’s face, Lily took the seat. “Thanks, Bliss.”
“No problem.”
Jewell sat the coffee down in front of her.
“Thanks.” Lily took a sip.
“Well, that was some party. I think I’ll give next year’s a pass,” Lily joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
The women chuckled, but Lily heard several sobs mixed in. Looking up, she knew they had all witnessed much more than the fire. Lily’s eyes watered and she clenched her hands so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.
“Where are the men?” Lily asked, determined to lighten the atmosphere.
“Downstairs ripping out the damaged wood. They took pictures of it before they did anything. Knox came out early this morning,” Evie informed her.
“Knox?” Lily questioned.
The women stared at each other before Evie replied, “Someone deliberately set the fire.”
Lily absorbed the shock of someone trying to kill a whole houseful of people.
“Do they know who yet?”
“Knox and Shade are looking into it.”
At that, the men came through the basement door, carrying with them the smell of smoke. They were covered in soot and grime, so Evie ordered them upstairs to shower before eating lunch.
Lily looked around the kitchen at the mention of food. “We ordered pizzas,” Raci answered her unspoken question.
As if on cue, the front door opened and closed, and Shade and Knox came in carrying pizza boxes. Shade glanced at her before setting the pizzas on the counter, quickly coming to her side.
“Hungry?”
“I could eat,” Lily admitted, getting up from the table while avoiding his concerned gaze. Getting in line, she took a slice of pizza before resuming her seat. Shade, on the other hand, filled his plate before sitting down next to her.
“Evie said someone deliberately set the fire,” Lily told him.
“Yes. Knox came out this morning and took the evidence he needed. Whoever it was slipped into the party last night with a hanger-on. We have a description. It’s only a matter of time before we find her.”
“Her?” Lily repeated, shocked.
“Yes,” Shade answered.
“Why?”
“We think it was another attempt on your life,” Shade told her.
Knox sat down at the table and she asked, “Why does someone want me dead? I don’t understand.” Lily looked for answers from the two men.
“We don’t know yet, but when we find who started the fire, we will.”
She shivered at the cold look of purpose on both men’s faces. She almost felt sorry for the person who’d set the fire. Only the knowledge of how many could have been killed had Lily keeping her mouth closed.
Everyone finished eating then Viper organized them all into one team as a cleanup crew and another to put up new drywall. Lily got up to go downstairs.
“No. You stay up here and start dinner for everyone.” She didn’t argue with Viper. She hadn’t looked forward to going downstairs and seeing the destruction while everyone was present.
Shade hung back once the other members had left. “You need anything?”
“No. Shade, maybe it would be better if I left. I don’t want to endanger anyone.” Lily didn’t want anyone hurt because of her.